Title
Adjusting the Heart
Scripture
...behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
(Jeremiah 16:12)
Devotional
An evil heart is any heart void of the Spirit of God. Our hearts without Christ are wicked and deceptive. The prophet Jeremiah also said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”(1)
Therefore, we need a foundation, a benchmark to guide our hearts and minds. That foundation is the Word of God. No matter how the heart directs, the Spirit and the Word must lead it. If not, it will eventually lead us astray. For example, with regard to adultery, the heart may tell you that you are in love, but the Word of God and the Spirit of God will tell you, no, you are in lust.
We are to listen to God above our hearts. A heart for God listens to Him. Therefore if you find yourself attempting to justify yourself according to the dictates of your heart, you most likely have an evil heart. The heart must be adjusted to the Spirit and the Word, never the reverse.
(1) Jeremiah 17:9
Text For The Day
Jeremiah 16:12: “…Behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.”
Thought For The Day
“Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as ‘the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,’ ‘the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,’ and ‘the center of a person.’ ‘The place to which God turns.’” Joseph Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986.
Questions To Ponder
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Why is the heart considered the source of compassion and love, bitterness and hate?
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How can the same heart produce these things? Consider James 3:10.
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What’s in your heart?
Morning Study Guide
Defining: “Evil heart”: The natural state of man, a heart of unbelief (Hebrews 3:12), an evil heart is a hard heart.
Referencing: “I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,” Ezekiel 11:19.
Applying: What’s in your heart? Examine yourself daily and turn from any wickedness that may be in you.